The Department of Education (DepEd) officially declared the opening of classes today, September 13 for School Year (SY) 2021-2022.
According to DepEd, on the first day of classes, the number of enrollees in private and public schools reached 93.8% or 24.6 million.
Education Undersecretary Revsee Escobedo said during a virtual school opening program, that they will issue a memorandum for the extension of the enrollment period until September 30.
He said the agency hopes to surpass the number of enrollees in the previous SY 2020-2021 which had 26.2 million despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that 33.08% or 198,297 students of Alternative Learning System (ALS) are now enrolled.
The top 3 regions with the most enrollees are Calabarzon with 3.2 million, Central Luzon with 2.4 million and National Capital Region (NCR) with 2.2 million.
Mimaropa, Cagayan, Northern Mindanao, Cordillera, Caraga and Bangsamoro are the regions reported more than 100% enrollees for this school year.
Meanwhile, since the face-to-face classes is not allowed, the system of education will remain in the current “new normal”.
“We did what was considered impossible in five months. We translated printed material into TV, radio, cell phone, tablet; and yes, utilized walkie-talkies for remote schools,” Briones said.